Fodor's may use your email address to send you relevant information on site updates, account changes, and offers. For more information about your privacy and protection, please review our full Privacy Policy.

Campania (Ischia, Capri, Naples, Pompei and The Amalfi Coast)

Hi! I'm going to spend 3 nights in Ischia (Ischia Ponte) and I was wondering if this itinerary was OK for those three nights (2 days and a half):

Day 1. Arrival in Ischia Ponte in the early afternoon. I thought that maybe I could head to the beach for a while after cheking in at my hotel and maybe grab some dinner at night in Borgo di Celso and aimlessly stroll a little through its streets.

Day 2. Visit Borgo di Celso and Castello Aragonese and, maybe, if I'm not that tired stroll a little in Ischia Porto in the late afternoon and have some dinner there in the evening.

Day 3. Day trip to Naples, mainly to visit "Spaccanapoli", "Il Quartiere Spagnolo" and anything else I have time to visit (I'm not interested in visiting "Il museo Archeologico Nazionale" since I'll be there only for a day). In the late afternoon, coming back to Ischia. Maybe spend that last night strolling in Ischia Porto or in Ischia Ponte looking for a place to have dinner.

Day 4. Leave for Capri early in the morning.

So, to the point (finally!). Is it doable to visit Ischia Ponte and Ischia Porto in a day? How big are they? I've read that Ischia Porto consists mainly on two streets with shops and restaurants, and Ischia Ponte is a small historic center with a few shops and restaurants, too. I wish I could add an extra night to visit Sant'Angelo, but I can't (I'll be in Campania for 9 nights: 3 on Ischia, 3 on Capri and 3 on The Amalfi Coast). So that's my main concern: being able to visit Ischia Ponte/Porto in that one day. Does that detailed plan of each day seem OK? Or am I expecting to see too much in two and a half days? I know Naples is a big city with tons of things to see, but I'm visiting it more out of curiosity than anything else.

You can see Ischia Ponte, Ischia Porto, Sant Angelo and possibly even Forio in the same day. All are very small villages and buses go to to all. You can wander around for a while, sit and eat or drink and keep going. Most things close at 1 and open at 4 but after April they are open very late in the evening. If you take the bus to Sant Angelo you will get to see a lot of the island. When you get off the bus just walk down the hill, you can't miss it. I don't know what month you're going, but Sant Angelo is pretty much closed until the beginning of April.

I'll be there the first week of July. I'll visit Ischia Ponte and Ischia Porto in the same day then along with some beach time. I don't want to see too much in one day because I'll be coming from Toscana and, after Ischia, I'll visit Capri and the Amalfi Coast and Rome, so I don't want to get tired. I'll keep Forio and Sant'Angelo in mind as a plan B. Thanks for your advice. I have a better idea of how small those towns are!

Do you think that is possible maybe to visit Ischia Ponte in the morning and then visit Procida in the afternoon? From what I've read, Procida is a tiny island with a few villages. In case I did it, I wouldn't be interested in visiting the whole island, maybe just the historic center. I have to give this idea some thought, though. As I said it all depends on how much energy I have. Thanks for any comments/tips/advice concerning this improvised plan!

Thanks! I was kind of worried because I'll be in Ischia on Saturday, Sunday and Monday (first weekend of July). Yeah, I read that Ischia Porto is mainly two streets and the main attraction in Ischia Ponte is "Castello Aragonese", so I was considering visiting Procida. I've been doing some research. Maybe I can spend half a day visiting Ischia Ponte/Porto and the other half on Procida. I'm still working on that itinerary.

I found a guest house on Capri called "Pensione Italia" located on Marina Grande. Is it a good idea to stay there? Walking isn't a problem for me (I'm looking forward to walking the Phoenician Steps) but since it is near the seaport, I was wondering if it was a noisy area or something. I've searched for a nice place to stay on Capri and so far I'm not comfortable with anything I've found, either because the places I've found have bad reviews or simply because they don't give me a good vibe. However, I have a good vibe about this guest house (it was recommended in a bookguide) and when I talked to the manager on the phone, I felt like "this is the one". I'm a little concerned about the area, though, since seaports are usually noisy (aren't they?). Any comments on this?

Ischia Porto and Ischia Ponte are basically the same place. Your ferry will dock in Ischia Porto. If you walk up to the street and make a left turn, then walk for about 7 blocks, you will be in Ischia Ponte (where my family is from).

So I've decided to visit Procida at least for an afternoon (I'm still trying to figure out when to squeeze it) since apparently Ischia Ponto/Porto are so small. Exactly what's the name of Procida's historic center? I've read about people visiting it, but, whenever I look at a map, I can't to find it. So far "Marina Corricella" seems to be the most appealing, but I don't know about "Marina Chiaiolella" or "Marina Grande". If you had an afternoon on Procida, where would you "get lost"?

If you had 3 night on The Amalfi Coast, 3 nights on Capri, and 3 nights on Ischia. From which one would you do a daytrip to Naples? I know that I can do it from any of three, but in which place will I have more time off to dedicate it to Naples? I would also like to visit Procida (I'm still thinking about it because I don't know if there's time for that), but Naples is a "must" for me, so I'm trying to figure out from which place to visit it.

I am hesitating a lille bit about whether to stay on Ischia or on Procida. I wanted to stay on Ischia and make a daytrip to Procida, but I've read so many wonderful things about Procida, that now I want to do the opposite: stay on Procida and do a daytrip to Ischia. I'll sleep on it. Would you rather sleep on Procida and do a daytrip to Ischia or viceversa?

I slept on it, and I decided to stay on Ischia and do a daytrip to Procida. I'm pretty excited about staying on Ischia because I booked a room at "Albergo Il Monastero" at Castello Aragonese. About Capri, I'm still deciding whether to stay in Marina Grande, Capri town or Anacapri. and I'm still deciding where to stay in Positano. So far "The Bougainville Hotel" seems good and goes with my budget.

ABENDIGO, You really need to calm down about this trip. You need to savor Italy and it sounds like you're running, running and running. You need to not try to get so much into a small period of time. See what is comfortable and remember there will be other years you can come back to see more. You won't be able to enjoy everything if you're always thinking about your next stop. You don't want to be a tourist, you want to be a traveler. It will be very hot in the summer so you will need to pace yourself.

Marina Grande on Capri is noisy, busy and touristy. Although there are a few hotels there, and probably some that aren't too bad, it would not be where I'd want to stay. We stayed at La Minerva in Capri - a very nice place probably 3+ stars, sort of in the middle of the price range for Capri. Anacapri also has very nice looking hotels (according to others here and at tripadvisor.com) and is more "rural".

Hello Abendigo -- a terrific place to stay on Capri that is beautiful, affordable, quiet and very close to Capri Town and Marina Picola beach is Terrenia Roberts bed and breakfast run by Costanza -- we stayed there several years ago and will when we go back. Beautiful views, a pool and nice hosts. They only have a few rooms so it is quiet. Have fun! We're off to Ischia ourselves and "Ann" has given us wonderful info for that trip